Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and, particularly, relates to a printing apparatus suitable for performing printing on, for example, a can.
Background Art
A printing apparatus including a plurality of plate cylinders for printing different colors, a plurality of ink supply units for supplying ink to the respective plate cylinders, and a machine frame for supporting both the plurality of plate cylinders and the plurality of ink supply units has been known as a printing apparatus for a can (see JP-A-2009-226787).
In the printing apparatus described above, an increase in the number of plate cylinders is necessary for more precise printing. However, it is necessary to prevent an increase in the size of the printing apparatus, resulting from an increase in the number of plate cylinders. As a result, it is extremely difficult to increase the number of plate cylinders without increasing the size of the printing apparatus. Furthermore, it is difficult to automatically perform an operation of mounting a plate on the plate cylinder. Accordingly, the operation is manually performed but requires automation.
An object of the invention is to solve the problem described above and provide a printing apparatus in which an increase in the number of plate cylinders can be achieved without an increase in size of the printing apparatus and in which it is easy to automate an operation for mounting a plate.